Oklahoma State Bar Offers Free Access to Legal Database

Oklahoma State Bar Offers Free Access to Legal Database

Article excerpt

As of Thursday, Oklahoma attorneys have free access to Fastcase,
a national database of state and federal court decisions, statutes,
regulations, court rules and state constitutions.

The Oklahoma Bar Association is joining several other states in
offering the service.

"Because most Oklahoma lawyers are either sole practitioners or
practice in small firms, this new free research tool could
significantly lower their expenses," said OBA President Stephen Beam
of Weatherford. "The savings can be passed on to benefit clients,
who would be charged lower fees."

The new service is aimed at helping attorneys perform the legal
research necessary to determine which legal precedents, laws and
regulations apply to their cases.

Beam said funding comes from annual dues paid by OBA members.

With the addition of Oklahoma and Tennessee on Thursday, more
than one in every four attorneys in the United States has access to
Fastcase.

Fastcase President Philip Rosenthal said the new benefit
complements the Oklahoma Supreme Court Network by putting a national
law library on the desktops of thousands of lawyers who previously
could not afford comprehensive online access. …